Family
by HeartyMedusa
Summary: Shepard is laid up in Alliance Memorial Hospital alone. She has no family to call. Her parents died on Mindoir, Anderson died, Kaidan and the Normandy crew is lost. With little options, she calls Kaidan's mom. Post destroy. This is kind of a guilty pleasure fic and isn't related to any of my other fics.
1. Chapter 1

"Is there anyone you'd like us to call?" The nurse asked kindy as Shepard bit back a moan of pain.

Who was left?

Her parents died on Mindoir. Anderson died on the Citadel. Kaidan was lost (she refused to think of him as dead). The Normandy crew was with Kaidan.

She had no one.

"No, there's no one," she stated, not revealing her internal pain.

"The father...?"

Shepard laughed bitterly- almost in tears. "He's been missing for eight months." Then it hit her. "Can you call Melissa Alenko and let me talk to her?"

"Of course, Admiral," she answered quietly, finding the information on her omni-tool and connecting. "Hello, this is Nurse Becca Shrides at Alliance Memorial. I'm trying to get ahold of Melissa Alenko."

Shepard panted her way through another bout of pain as the other woman replied (with a mix of hope and fear), "This is Melissa Alenko."

"I have a patient here, Admiral Shepard, who would like to speak with you."

"Alright." With that one word, Shepard could hear her disappointment. She was already sorry that she had bothered to reach out to Kaidan's mother.

The nurse walked over and, for the first time, Shepard saw Kaidan's mother. While she was pretty, Kaidan had clearly inherited most of his looks from his father. "Mrs. Alenko," she greeted. "I don't know if you know, but I dated your son."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, I have some news that might be a little interesting to you." She paused and wiped some sweat off her forehead. "I'm currently in the hospital giving birth to his son," she gasped out as the next contraction hit.

Kaidan's mother remained frozen throughout the contraction. When Shepard's face relxed, she simply said, "I'm on the way."

Nurse Becca smiled reassuringly at Shepard. "How're you feeling, Admiral?"

Shepard laughed tiredly. "Well, it's not the worst pain I've ever been in, but it's pretty damn close. You ever gone hand-to hand with a Krogan Battlemaster after a few shots of Ryncol?"

The nurse stared at her with a look of disbelief. "No...have you?"

"You obviously don't know who I am if you've got to ask that." Nurse Becca cocked an eyebrow. "But, yes, I have. None other than Urdnot Wrex...another time with another one- I don't remember his name. Wrex and I were having a drinking contest and decided to go hand-to-hand. Hurt like hell, but I won. Best damn fight of my life."


	2. Chapter 2

The next hour consisted of nothing more than a variation of mind-numbing pain and forcibly calm breathing. It seemed like she would no sooner relax when the next contraction would hit.

"Admiral," a marine (one of her guards) from the hallway poked her head in, "there's a Melissa Alenko here to see you."

"Send her in," she ordered, drinking some water.

Melissa walked into the room and stared awkwardly over Shepard's shoulder. "Admiral Shepard."

"Please," Shepard chuckled, "I'm your grandson's mother. Call me Penny- or Penelope, if you prefer."

A contraction hit and Shepard breathed her way through it- riding _with_ the pain as opposed to _against_ it (a little something she picked up in N7 training when dealing with getting shot, getting broken bones, or suffering from burns). She slowly relaxed against her pillows and smiled apologetically.

"Did..._does_ Kaidan know?" Melissa asked carefully.

"Depends on if Doctor Chakwas has told him or not. I was about a month along when we hit Earth. I was planning to tell him after the battle- he'd've never let me fight if he had known. I actually thought about backing out of the fight, but the war was bigger than Kaidan and my family." She rubbed her large stomach. "I was hoping that he'd've made it back for this."

Melissa wet a wash cloth and began wiping Shepard's brow. "Don't you have any other family?"

"They're all with Kaidan on the Normandy."

Melissa was quiet for a few minutes. "This has to be one of the best kept secrets because I wasn't even aware that you were pregnant- the news has been following you pretty closely. I actually didn't pay attention to the fact that most of the shots of you were from the chest up."

Shepard chuckled and winced a little. "Would you believe it if I said that I didn't want the media to focus on my pregnancy as opposed to the recovery effort?"

Melissa smiled. "I would, actually. Kaidan told me all about you."

"Oh?" Shepard gasped out as a contraction hit. She forced herself to breathe as normally as she could.

"Yeah, said you were brave, strong-willed, stubborn, and amazing. He said you were something of a masochist, too." The two women shared a laugh. They fell silent for a moment before Melissa said, "I don't know if he ever told you, but he loved you."

"He did. His saying it and my knowing that it's true is the only reason I'm laying here in labor as opposed to at Alliance Command directing ships."

"I'm sorry?" Melissa paused and stared at Shepard, stunned. "Are you telling me you thought about aborting the baby?"


	3. Chapter 3

**_Author's Note: This is non-cannon with any of my other fics. Like I said in the summary, this is nothing more than a guilty pleasure fic that probably won't be too long (hence the short chapters). Have no fear about Curious Jealousy, I'm still working hard on that and the chapter will be out on its normal day on Friday. And, for those reading A Vision in Red, I'm working hard on the second chapter (I've already managed to write the third chapter, but I can't quite pin down the second)._**

* * *

Shepard shoved a shaky hand through her hair. "When I first heard that I was pregnant, I was absolutely terrified- terrified, in a way that I had never been before. I thought about aborting right then. I'm a soldier- I don't know anything about being a mother. But, then I thought about Kaidan and what a great dad he'd be. I decided to keep the baby."

She paused and rode out the next contraction, a small noise escaping from her, despite her best efforts to remain silent.

"Then, after everything with Crucible, I found out that the Normandy was missing and the baby was somehow still alive- despite all the abuse my body had taken. I was alone and terrified, so I thought about abortion again. What if our baby looks like him? Did I really want to look at a constant reminder of the man I loved and lost? Even if Kaidan came back and Chakwas told him about our little surprise, it wouldn't be unbelievable that I lost it during the battle. It would be easily explainable." Shepard felt mildly embarrassed that she was admitting everything, but it was completely honest, and she felt like she owed Kaidan's mom that much.

Melissa was silent for a while. Then, "What made you decide to keep him?"

"Kaidan and I...we love each other." Shepard's brow creased as she nodded decisively. "What if he _is_ gone? If so, he left me with the most precious gift- his love...his _legacy_." She stroked her engorged stomach. "Kaidan gave me his son so I'd always have a part of him. Always."

"You sound like you don't think he's coming back," Melissa murmured, refilling Shepard's glass of water.

The answer Shepard had was much too difficult and personal to talk to Kaidan's mother about. She had to think pretty quickly for a simpler answer than she could give to anyone. Finally, she got it.

"Between the baby, the fleet, and inter-species negotiations that I seem to be the go-to on...I only have so much energy. I would love for Kaidan to walk through those doors," she glanced at the doors, "with a huge smile and a story to tell." Shepard paused to settle her sorrow. "It's probably the same thing you constantly feel about your husband."

The two women shared a moment of silence for their lost men before Shepard curled in on herself as a stronger contraction hit.

"I think I prefer getting shot," she gasped out, causing Melissa to laugh (not unkindly). "This is _definitely_ worse than wrestling with a Krogan."

"Nurse," Melissa said, decidedly ignoring Shepard, "you might want to get the doctor- it's getting close."


	4. Chapter 4

Shepard gasped as the nurse commed the doctor. "Is it worth all of this?" she asked helplessly- feeling as though her body was tearing itself apart.

Melissa smiled as she wiped Shepard's face. "People like to say that you'll forget all of this once you're holding the baby," she informed the younger woman with some humor, "but it's a lie. You will remember this for a _long_ time. But, yeah, it's definitely worth it when you hold the baby in your arms."

"I still might kill you son next time I see him," she confided.

The doctor walked quickly into the room and checked her before nodding. "Not much longer now," the doctor confirmed. "How're you feeling, Admiral?"

She gave him an exasperated look. "You ever been hit with a Reaper beam that damn near knocked you out, been flung from a beam, impaled on a pole, and then suffer from blood loss?" She took a deep breath. "This is pretty equal to that."

The doctor stared at her for a moment before nodding, figuring it was best not to say anything (probably for the best, given her current state).

"She's a first time mom," Melissa shared to the doctor who merely raised an eyebrow. "What kind of pain meds do you have her on?"

"None." The doctor frowned and looked at Shepard's chart. "Who are you? Do you have the required authority to be in here?"

Shepard let loose a small groan. "She's the baby's grandmother- father's side," she panted. "My authority."

Melissa ignored her, and kept her attention on the doctor. "Why isn't she on some kind of pain medication? This is painful enough _with_ meds- let alone _without._"

"Allergic," Shepard supplied. She relaxed onto the bed. "Plus, there're others who need them more than me- I have a high tolerance for pain. Given my career, it's not a big surprise."

Kaidan's mother shook her head. "I'm surprised you even bothered coming to the hospital at all," she sighed in exasperation.

"I didn't want to- one of my marine's called Hackett and he made it an order. I was perfectly willing to call a doctor to my room so I wouldn't take up room in the hospital," she admitted with a small smile.

"Masochist doesn't even _begin_ to describe you."

"It's nearly time, Admiral," Nurse Becca said with a smile. "Are you ready to meet your little boy?"

"I'm ready for his father to come home so I can kill him with my bare hands," she groaned.

The doctor looked worriedly between Shepard and Melissa. "Is she joking?"

"This is Admiral Penelope Shepard we're talking about- what do you think?"

The doctor paled but remained silent as he prepared all that he needed to deliver the baby.


	5. Chapter 5

Nurse Becca was constantly moving all over the room- to read Shepard's vitals, to assist the doctor, and to help make Shepard more comfortable (although her constant movement served more to make Shepard vaguely sick to her stomach).

"You're nearly ready to start pushing, Admiral," the doctor assured her as she groaned. "Just remember to breathe."

Shepard gripped the edges of her bed so hard that her knuckles were white. "If I could breathe while my uterus feels like its being pulled out, you could damn well be sure that I'd already be _breathing,_" she snapped.

Melissa pushed Shepard's sweaty hair off of her forehead in a very motherly fashion. "It's alright, Penny," she assured her. "This is all perfectly normal."

A few tears escaped from Shepard, despite her best effort to keep them hidden. "No, this is not normal. Kaidan should be here- I _need_ him here. This is his son, too. I should be threatening his life in front of him- not to his mother!"

"Let me tell you a story," Melissa said suddenly. "A few years ago, my little boy- it doesn't matter how old or big your child gets, they'll always be little ones in the eyes of their mother- received an assignment that was beyond anything he could have hoped for. He was going to serve under Captain Anderson and Commander Shepard- two highly decorated, well-accomplished soldiers. They were known not only among the ranks of the Alliance- but all of humanity."

Melissa paused in her story to help Shepard through the next contraction and helping her drink a bit of water afterwards.

"'Ma,' he wrote, 'this ship is amazing- something from a dream. I met Commander Shepard today and…wow…just _wow._ If you were to walk by her on the street, her appearance wouldn't indicate that she's a highly decorated N7 soldier who can hit a target smaller than an eye at a thousand yards.'

"We talked after each mission and it was like the missions didn't matter. My little boy was dodging bullets from AIs and all he wanted to talk about what his commanding officer. At first, I thought it was nothing more than hero-worship, but…well, I suppose you call it my _motherly instincts_ kicked in and I realized that he was really falling for his CO."

"Motherly instincts, huh?" Shepard panted out.

"I asked him when he was going to say something to you and you know what he told me?" When Shepard shook her head, Melissa said, "He said that he didn't have a snowballs chance in hell with you- that you were too far out of his league."

"Ironic considering I'm having his son," she managed as she groaned through another contraction. "What'd he say next?"

"He said that you admitted to having feelings for him too. I'd never seen him so ecstatic."

They fell silent.

"Admiral," the doctor said quietly, "it's time to push."


	6. Chapter 6

It was late- pushing midnight.

Hence the reason he was sneaking around the hospital.

He made sure that all of the doctors and nurses that were on duty were otherwise occupied before he snuck his way into the maternity ward.

It had been a trick avoiding _Admiral Shepard's_ guards, but he somehow managed.

It was almost too easy to hack the door leading into the nursery- to the boy.

"They've got guards watching his mother- making sure that she's safe-, but not a damn person to watch the son," he murmured, slowly making his way to the crib.

_Adrian Marcus Alenko,_ the tag read.

The man looked down in the crib at the little boy. Despite the sunglasses he was wearing, he could see the thick, dark hair that graced the little boy's head- shockingly different from his mother's light-brown hair.

"Three guess who you take after," he chuckled.

He looked around, half expecting a squadron of soldiers to bear down on him and take him out. When he didn't spot anyone, he ran a thumb over the boy's forehead.

Adrian's mouth formed an O as he yawned and owned his eyes to reveal blue eyes.

"Come here," the man murmured, picking up the little boy carefully (he had close to no experience with babies). Once he was sure that the baby was securely in his arms, he turned to walk away from the crib.

Just before he could turn around, he was stopped when a barrel of a gun was pressed against his temple- shoving his hat enough to make it awkwardly crooked. "Put him down. _Now._"

He was pretty sure that he'd've preferred the squadron of soldiers.

"Now," she repeated angrily, pushing the gun painfully further into his temple.

He slowly lowered the baby back into his crib and turned around slowly- his view of her slightly marred due to the darkened room and his sunglasses.

"Now state your name, rank, and the reason why the hell you think you have the right to touch my son," she ordered.

He didn't say anything, just stared at her. She looked utterly exhausted and beyond pissed off. Despite being clad only in a robe, she was formidable.

"Are you deaf?" she snarled, pressing the gun into his chest. "Answer my questions!"

Taking a deep breath, he reached up and removed his sunglasses and hat. "Well-"

"Oh my god," she gasped, lowering the gun instantly. _"Kaidan."_


	7. Chapter 7

_He slowly lowered the baby back into his crib and turned around slowly- his view of her slightly marred due to the darkened room and his sunglasses._

_"Now state your name, rank, and the reason why the hell you think you have the right to touch my son," she ordered._

_He didn't say anything, just stared at her. She looked utterly exhausted and beyond pissed off. Despite being clad only in a robe, she was formidable._

_"Are you deaf?" she snarled, pressing the gun into his chest. "Answer my questions!"_

_Taking a deep breath, he reached up and removed his sunglasses and hat. "Well-"_

_"Oh my god," she gasped, lowering the gun instantly. _"Kaidan."

* * *

"Penny," he murmured, a small smile breaking out on his face.

Her eyes narrowed and she threw a powerful right punch that hit him squarely on his jaw. She looked at him defiantly when he grabbed his chin and looked at her, surprised. "That's for sneaking in and not bothering to come see me first."

He shook his head. "I'm- well, actually, all of us on the Normandy- on a mandatory 48 hour lockdown. I had to sneak out- which isn't easy, by the way. Admiral Hackett ordered it- didn't tell me a damn thing about you, either."

She glared at him, not quite believing his story. "Then how'd you know that I was in the hospital?"

Kaidan opened something on his omni-tool.

_**Alliance War Hero Admiral Shepard Gives Birth to Healthy Baby Boy.**_

Shepard chuckled and nodded. "Figures that not all the doctors and nurses could keep quiet," she murmured.

He pulled her tight against him- causing her to make a slight noise of discomfort (but not enough of one for her to want him to let her go).

"You're a few hours late," she informed him, breathing in his scent. "I was threatening your life."

He chuckled and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "He's amazing."

"You're only saying that because he _clearly _takes after you," she said affectionately, pulling away enough to really look at him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "It would've taken less time if there'd been a relay in the system or the Normandy hadn't been damaged."

"It's fine- you're mother helped me through everything." She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I thought she was going to lose it when I name him Adrian, though."

"Dad never made him home, then?"

Shepard pulled away and went over to the crib holding their son. "No, but she'll be glad that you did." She leaned down and picked up Adrian. "Come on, Kaidan, let's go see your mother- it's about time our family gets put back together."


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N:_****_ Sorry for the delay, my dear readers. Between life (it sucks that there are other responsibilities) and other writing projects, it took me a while to finish this. And this is, indeed, the last chapter of this story. :D I hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to check out my other fics!_**

* * *

Shepard smiled as Kaidan took his son from her and held the baby to him. She couldn't help but to lean forward to kiss both of her boys.

Resting a hand on his arm, she led him to her room, barely pausing to nod at her guard. The looked at Kaidan in surprise.

"Wait here," she instructed softly before they entered the room. After Kaidan nodded, she made her way in.

"Penny?" Melissa's tired voice asked.

Shepard made her way over to the other woman and smiled at her. "Yeah?"

"Something happen?"

"I went down to the nursery to see Adrian and ran into some unexpected company," she shrugged.

"D'you tell them visiting hours aren't at two o'clock in the morning?"

Shepard smiled and walked to the door and opened it to reveal Kaidan and Baby Adrian before quickly taking their son as Melissa practically launched herself at Kaidan.

"Oh my- are you okay- where have you been- how are you-"

"Mom," he chuckled, hugging her. "I'm fine- everything's fine. Well, except for the fact I'm breaking a quarantine order."

Adrian yawned and his bottom lip began to quiver from all of the commotion. Shepard looked down anxiously at him and then to Melissa before rocking him in her arms.

"You do realize that this wasn't on the agenda for a few more years, Kaidan Alenko," she informed him sternly. "What the hell do I know about being a mom?"

Kaidan smiled and disentangled his arms from his mom to walk over to his son and girlfriend. "You took care of the Normandy crew and stopped a galactic war- what's a little baby compared to that?"

Melissa snorted into her arm, but attempted to hide it in her sleeve.

* * *

With the baby in her arms, she slowly made her way to Alliance Command. She wasn't going to head home first- she needed to talk to Hackett. What with Kaidan back aboard the Normandy (hopefully he was able to reboard unseen), she was ready to have a few words with Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett.

As she walked through the halls with the baby, people called out her name and a few even stopped her to take a look at Adrian. It took a while before she was at Hackett's office.

She walked right by his secretary and into his office. "You rat bastard," she snapped when he came into sight.

Hackett stood quickly, with widened eyes. "Penny!"

"Oh no- don't you dare Penny me! Why didn't you tell me the Normandy made it back to Earth? I was in _labor_- not _dead_!"

Adrian fussed in her arms and she soothed him with a calming sound and a few rocks of her arms. Hackett took that time to walk to her and help her sit. "If I had told you that the Normandy was home, you'd've left the hospital in the middle of labor to greet the crew. You had more pressing concerns."

"I had the right to know," she snarled- if only to maintain her anger (his reasoning was irrefutable).

Hackett acknowledged her argument with a nod as he sat down behind his desk. "Probably. I thought I was doing what was best for you by not telling you- that's the problem with hindsight."

Shepard's anger ebbed away and she sighed. "I'm going to the Normandy after this," she informed him matter-of-factly.

He smiled kindly. "I never had any doubt. Go on, Penny, go be with your family."

"Thank you, sir."

**_- END -_**


End file.
